We're Living In A World Of Fools
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day three hundred and forty-four: Jesse and Rachel unite to discover their situation is shared.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 16th cycle. Now cycle 17!_

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**"We're Living in a World of Fools"  
Jesse/Rachel  
****Sequel to "Stages Apart", "That's Some Freaky Friday Shit", "Odd Directions", "This is your life", and "Through the looking glass"**

He was fairly confident about his ability to land on his feet and adapt to a new situation, but this one was really testing him. There were a whole lot of factors being tossed around. He had the club, who were mostly either curious about or pissed off at him. Then Schuester, he looked distracted, off his game. Jesse wasn't going to go off and ask.

They were gathered in the auditorium, which had to mean they were going to rehearse some kind of number. And in fact…

"Right. Jesse, Finn, Puck, let's see what you've got," he waves them up. The rest of them spread out in a back row. Jesse stood between the pair of them glaring at him. He sighed… the fact that he had no idea what song they were doing was showing itself to be the least of his problems. He'd know as soon as the music started, and then he'd just hope he knew the words… He did.

_[JFP] "I know your eyes in the morning sun / I feel you touch me in the pouring rain / And the moment that you wander far from me / I wanna feel you in my arms again_

_And you come to me on a summer breeze / Keep me warm in your love / Then you softly leave / And it's me you need to show" / [ALL] "How deep is your love?"_

_[ALL] "How deep is your love / How deep is your love / I really need to learn / 'Cause we're living in a world of fools / Breakin' us down / When they all should let us be / We belong to you and me"_

Up above, Jesse could swear he'd seen something as they sang, but it was never there more than a moment, so he'd just ignore it and carry on singing.

_[J] "I believe in you / You know the door to my very soul / You're the light in my deepest, darkest hour / You're my saviour when I fall / And you may not think I care for you / When you know down inside / That I really do"_

_[ALL] "And it's me you need to show / How deep is your love? / How deep is your love / How deep is your love / I really need to learn / 'Cause we're living in a world of fools / Breakin' us down / When they all should let us be / We belong to you and me"_

_[JFP] "And you come to me on a summer breeze, / Keep me warm in your love / Then you softly leave / And it's me you need to show" / [ALL] "How deep is your love?"_

_[ALL] "How deep is your love / How deep is your love / I really need to learn / 'Cause we're living in a world of fools / Breakin' us down / When they all should let us be / We belong to you and me_

_How deep is your love / How deep is your love / I really need to learn / 'Cause we're living in a world of fools / Breakin' us down / When they all should let us be / We belong to you and me_

_How deep is your love / How deep is your love / I really need to learn / 'Cause we're living in a world of fools / Breakin' us down / When they all should let us be / We belong to you and me"_

As they ended, they held for a moment before stepping back to rejoin the others. Jesse landed back at Quinn's side, the only one he didn't have issue with at the moment. She silently gave small applause in his direction, smirking. He laughed, nodding back.

It was in doing so that he finally saw he hadn't been imagining things, that there had been something up there, someone… She saw him looking, and they froze. After a beat, she turned and ran off. He reacted, had to go after her and… He looked back to Quinn. He didn't want to draw her attention, or anyone else's.

"I'll be right back," he told her before starting for the hall. He took off at a jog, reasonable. Once he had cleared the door though, it became a mad dash, past students, halls, jumping over bags, ducking doors. He hiked the stairs two by two and continued as he spotted her, sprinting to halt her, turning her.

"H-hi…" he spoke, out of breath. The girl stared at him, quiet… he had to think there'd be a lot in her mind, if she knew what was going on… "You were watching up there." She didn't speak. He held out his hand to her, almost to see what she would do. "I'm Jesse," he watched her. She screwed up her resolve, extending her hand back, shaking his, eye to eye.

"Rachel," she replied. Their hands joined like this, it told a lot more than they could imagine. If the hands reacted with familiarity, pain from certain events… or no recollection at all. "I, uh… I was just curious, I wasn't spying," she shook her head.

"Right, no, of course," he let go of her hand. "You're with Vocal Adrenaline, yes?" There was the smallest beat of confusion on her face, and he saw it.

"I… yes, I am." She went silent, and Jesse's heart sped up – she knew! It was happening to her, too… She couldn't fake it, not with him. Just to be sure…

"And you won your Sectionals, congratulations." She smiled shyly. "What'd you sing?" she stared back at him… 'deer in the headlights' came to mind.

"Well, I… I mean, we… What'd you sing?" she changed the subject, looking stronger at having some control again.

"I don't know," he shrugged simply, and she looked like she'd just taken an electrical shock. "And neither do you," he bowed his head to her as though to say 'understand?'

"You, too?" her finger shot out to point at him. He nodded, and she relaxed immediately, letting the charade fall. "I've been thinking I'd gone crazy, more than my own kind of crazy!" she gasped, and he had to laugh. She shook her head then. "Except… it's real, it feels real…"

"Yeah," he agreed. She looked saddened. "Everything okay?" She turned to him.

"My fathers aren't together, in here." Jesse frowned, reaching to give her arm a squeeze. She looked up. "But you and Quinn though…" she pointed out.

"Yeah, I'm still figuring that one out," he nodded.

"She doesn't look…"

"Pregnant? No, I know. Something's changed it, obviously." She blinked, confused. "No one else seemed to have any idea about what's going on, but we do… So somehow the fact of either of us being here or there… or not being here or there, it's affected how things happened."

"Are you saying I had something to do with Quinn getting pregnant?"

"I don't know, maybe, somewhere… Any idea why Schuester's so crabby?" Rachel was surprised by this, but then she thought about it, and pieces got to falling into place.

"The baby…" Jesse frowned, so she explained. "Mr. Schuester's wife, she spent months pretending she was pregnant, and he had no idea." Jesse shook his head, still not understanding. "Mrs. Schuester was going to adopt Quinn's baby, pass it off as their own, so…"

"No baby, no loophole," he nodded, bewildered at the same time.

"So whatever happened instead means… different outcome for them, too." She paused. "Is it weird that it all makes sense?"

"Little bit," Jesse admitted.

"Meanwhile we're nowhere near 'sense' with how this happened… and how we fix it."

"I've been thinking… this place is different, but not all of it is."

"What?" she was confused again.

"Well, we're meeting now, shortly after Sectionals. When did we meet before?" She breathed out.

"After Sectionals," she answered.

"Do you have family here in Lima that you could stay with for a while?"

"What? Why?" she asked.

"Well if we're going to figure this out, wouldn't it be better if we were together? Besides, I came here eventually, maybe you need to do the same." She looked to him.

"With one big difference. You came in order to trick me, when I thought you came because you cared for me."

"Okay," he sighed. "I know that there are some things we need to talk about, and I promise you we will at some point, but for now we should get things moving, right?" She went on looking at him in silence.

"I don't know…" he sighed. "I just… I guess I need to think about it. I mean, sure, right now being in that other home, with just one of my fathers, it's… hard," she kept it at that. "And it might be easier to be back in town, but… you understand why it's complicated for me to be here… with you…"

"I know," he swore. "Can you decide in three days? Then we can meet back… where we first… first met?" he tempted a smile.

"Three days," she nodded, turned and walked away. He watched her go, letting out a breath… Now they were on to something… hopefully.

THE END

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_**[A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, story alert won't get you anything! ;)]**_


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